Kendrick Lamar, the Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper, held a star-studded concert on June 19, 2024 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California to celebrate Juneteenth. The event was named 'The Pop Out: Ken & Friends' and was presented by pgLang and Free Lunch. The concert streamed live on Prime Video and Amazon Music's Twitch Channel for free.
The show opened with Kendrick performing his Drake diss track, 'Euphoria.' He also performed some of his older hits such as 'DNA,' 'Element,' and 'Alright.' Other artists who joined him on stage included Dr. Dre, Tyler, the Creator, Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, E-40, DJ Mustard, Blxst, Ty Dolla $ign, Dom Kennedy and Roddy Ricch.
The concert aimed to be a unification effort among artists from different gang factions in Los Angeles. It was also an opportunity for Kendrick to showcase the influence of Los Angeles on rap culture. The event came after a highly publicized feud between Kendrick and Drake, which many believe was put to rest with this concert.
Kendrick Lamar's Juneteenth show at the Kia Forum was more than just a victory lap for the rapper. It was an opportunity to bring together artists from different backgrounds and factions in Los Angeles to celebrate their unity and the influence of their city on rap culture. The concert featured performances from some of the biggest names in West Coast rap, including Dr. Dre, Tyler, the Creator, Schoolboy Q, Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and many others.
The show started with Kendrick Lamar performing his hit song 'Euphoria,' which includes a diss towards Drake. This was followed by a series of collaborative performances with other artists. Dr. Dre made an appearance to perform 'Still D.R.E.' and introduced Kendrick's performance of the explosive Drake diss 'Not Like Us.'
The concert also featured rising stars like Ray Vaughn, Cuzzos, Blue Bucks Clan and Westside Boogie before the stage was taken over by a krump dancer and a large crew. DJ Hed had many rising and established Los Angeles stars perform before Kendrick even took the stage.
Mustard played a string of his own hits from over the years, including Tyga's 'Rack City,' 2 Chainz's 'I'm Different,' Dom Kennedy's 'My Ways,' and Tyler, the Creator's 'Earthquake.' Roddy Ricch performed his hit song 'The Box.' There was a section dedicated to Nipsey Hussle in which Mustard played their collaboration 'Perfect 10.'
After Kendrick hit the stage to perform 'Euphoria,' he was joined by his former TDE label mates and Black Hippy comrades Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and ScHoolboy Q. They performed collaborative performances of their hits such as Jay Rock's 'Money Trees,' Kendrick's 'King's Dead,' and ScHoolboy Q's 'Collard Greens.'
The concert ended with a message of unity from Kendrick Lamar, emphasizing that the show was not just a victory lap but an effort to bring together different factions in Los Angeles. He promised this was the first of more cross-city collaborations.
